Process of making combustible gas for use in internal-combustion engines



p 1952 D. E. MACKENZIE ET AL 2,594,468

PROCESS OF MAKING COMBUSTIBLE GAS FOR USE IN INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Sept. 6. 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS D E. MACKENZIE GEORGE rtWOLF-E 1- M ATTORNEYS April 29, 1952 D. E. MACKENZIE ET AL PROCESS OF MAKING COMBUSTIBLE GAS FOR USE IN INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 6, 1946 IN HY E.M E H.WO BY M ATTORNE S D. E. MACKENZIE ETAL PROCESS OF MAKING COMBUSTIBLE GAS FOR USE IN INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES April 29, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 F'iled Sept. 6, 1946 ATTORN s A ril 29, 1952 D. E. MACKENZIE ET AL 2,594,468

PROCESS OF MAKING COMBUSTIBLE GAS FOR USE IN INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 6, 1946 o o v o o o 0 Patented Apr. 29, 1952 PROCESS OF MAKING COMBUSTIBLE" GAS FOR 'USE IN" INTERNAL-COMBUSTION EN- GIN ES Dorothy E. Mackenzie and George Hrwolfc, Reno, Nev.

Application September 6, 1946, Serial No'. 695,'210

. .1 In our parent application Serial No. 600,964; filed June 22, 1945, now abandoned, we have claimedthegas producer apparatus of our invention in combination with an internal combustion engine. In this divisional application we claim the process of producing gas by such apparatus or by anysimilar apparatus construction. "The invention relates to a process of generating a combustible gas of'a high calorific value from charcoal; coke, or other carbonaceous materials for usein internal combustion engines of automotive vehicles.

The object of the invention-is to provide aprocess of generating combustible gassuitable for use in internal combustion engines, which consists of establishing multiple independent and restricted zones or points of combustion in the fuel bed of a gas producing apparatus, and causing controlled amounts of-atmospheric air to bed-rawn through each of said combustion'zones at a high velocity; and then alternately subjectingeach of saidzones of combustion to timed injections of predetermined quantities of steam orwater.-

A further object of the invention is to provide a process for generating combustible gas in a gas producerapparatus which consists of establishing multiple independent combustion zones or points isolated in. the fuel bed of said apparatus, and causing controlled amounts'of preheated air to be "drawn through said combustionzzones' at a-high velocity, then subjecting each of said zones of combustion, alternately tn timed injections of steam or water, and finally, drawing the igas gen- 2 Claims. (01. 48- 206) tends-throughthe wall of the apparatuscasing the fire zone in such a gas producing apparatus, becomes decreased, because of an excess supply of water or steam, it is necessary to discontinue the. injection of the water or steam, then permit only air to be drawn through said fire zoneuntil it has regained its required gas producingtemperature; This causes a condition in the generat ing apparatuswhere there will be a continuous rise and fall in the qualityiof: the gas generated and continued efficient operation of the internal combustion engine of the automotivervehiclecannot be attained.

The process of generatingrthexcombustible "gas to be used in the engine of the automotive vehicle, as set forth herein, and the. apparatus shown in the drawing inwhich the process may 'be practiced, are designed to overcomethevabove mentioned difficulties and to provide a method and means for producing combustible gas which is not only ofa constant high quality, but which is particularly suited'for the. continuous operating requirements of the internal combustioniengine of said vehicle. In carrying out the objects. of the invention, a gas-producer apparatusmay be provided which is constructed and arranged so that a plurality of independentandsmall fire zones may be established in the fuel bed contained therein, and the said apparatus is then operated so that the said'fire' zones are kept-in a proper state ofincandescence by drawing predetermined quantities of preheated air through the sameat ahigh velocity, and at thesame time predetermined quantities :of steam or water in"- ;iected into the central portion of each 'fir'e' zones alternately and at timed'intervals. By practic ing this method of intermittently injecting limited amounts of water or steam into the central portions of the plurality of fire zones, the steam or water is caused to intermingle with'the remaining areas of incandescence of said fire zones and become converted into fixed gases of high calorific value before the-temperature of saidfire zones is too far decreased-and thus a constant quality of the gas produced will be maintained.

A gas-producer'apparatus in which our inven} tion may be practiced and as made applicable for useon an automotive vehicle is illustrated in'the drawings as follows:

Figure lis aside elevation of a'preierrediorm 1 of the gas producer apparatus made and operated in accordance with ouriinvention' and also shows diagrammatically themanner in which said apparatus would "be connected up with the internal combustion engine of an' automotive vehicle; 7

Figure 2 is an enlarged partial sectionalview of the gas-producer apparatus as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation of a modified form of construction of the apparatus;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of a distributing valve device which is used on the apparatus for alternately distributing steam or water into the multiple fire zones established in the apparatus casing during its operation;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the distributing valve device taken on the line-5 5 of Figure 4 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figures 6 and 7 are detail views illustrating the manner in which the distributing valve device operates in alternately distributing water or steam to the fire zones in the apparatus;

remove the finest dust particles in the gas.

Figure 8 is a partial front view of the front of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, and showing the manner in which steam is admitted alternately to the two tuyeres; and

Figure 9 is a view showing diagrammatically the fire zone development in the apparatus casing when the two fire zones are established therein.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figures 1 and 2, apparatus constructed to carry out the objects of our invention is comprised of a closed casing A, made of a light metal plate. At the top portion of the casing there is provided an opening through which combustible fuel is introduced into the apparatus. The opening is adapted to be closed by a suitable removable cover B. The upper part of the producer casing is used for the fuel reservoir for storing the combustible fuel to be converted into gas. and the lower portion comprises the gas producing zone. Mounted in the casing wall at points adjacent to where the fire zones are to be established in the fuel bed, are two tuyeres C and D, only one of which is shown in Figure 2. The construction and mode of operation of these tuyeres .will be more fully referred to hereinafter.

In the base portion of the apparatus casing there is-provided a movable ash grate E, which is used to shake dust and ash from the fire zones, and also to agitate and loosen up the fuel stored in the upper part of the casing. The ash grate (which is only indicated diagrammatically in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings) may be constructed in any suitable manner, and is adapted to be secured to a rotatable shaft which extends across the base of the casing, and which is operated by a hand lever located on the outside of the easing. Any ashes or clinkers which are caused to be shaken from the fire zonesby the ash grates are dropped into an ashpit located in the base of the apparatus casing at F. The ashpit may be provided with a door G which is held in closed position by a suitable closing means.

The producer casing is also, provided with an outlet opening H, through which the gas generated in the casing passes when it is fed to the internal combustion engine of the vehicle. The outlet opening is providedwith a suitable grill located at H which functions .to stop small pieces of charcoalor clinkers in the gas :which would otherwise be drawn into the gas feeding system.

I The gas generated in the producer casing, after passing through the grilled opening H, is drawn through a series of cleaning and filtering devices shown diagrammatically in Figure 1. Although the construction and operation of these cleaning and filtering devices form no part of the present The gas generated in the casing A after leaving said casing through the outlet H, is first drawn through a temperature reduction filter I, where a large portion of the dirt in the gas is eliminated and at the same time the temperature of the hot gas is lowered by coming in contact with the cool surfaces of the filter construction. From the temperature reduction filter, the gas passes through a charcoal drier filter J, which functions to remove moisture from the gas and also to further cool the same. The gas then is drawn through a radial fin filter K which is designed to Fi. nally, the gas is drawn through a filter L, which is provided with a very fine metallic cloth, and which prevents the possible passage of any dust to the motor. From this last mentioned filter, the gas passes into a carbo-charger device M. which is mounted on the internal combustion engine of the vehicle. The carbo-charger device causes the generated gas and atmospheric air to be mixed together, and this mixture is then fed to a changeover valve N, which is employed to permit the internal combustion engine to run either on gasoline and air, or on the generated gas and air mixture from the carbo-charg'er. In the system of feeding the generator gas to the engine as above described, the adjustments from the mixture of the gas and air are provided for on the dashboard of the automotive vehicle so that the driver can easily regulate the mixture for the most efficient operation of the engine.

Referring again to the gas producing apparatus it will be seen that on the front of the apparatus casing is mounted a water reservoir tank I. The water contained in said tank is adapted to be fed through a conduit 2, to a drip valve measuring device indicated at 3. The drip valve measuring device may be of any well known and suitable construction which will operate to feed the water to the apparatus casing in a regulated quantity. Leading from the drip valve measuring device is the conduit 4, which communicates with a chamber 5 positioned on the in terior wall of the casing A. The water entering chamber 5, through conduit 4, is converted into steam by reason of the heat present in the producer casing when the producer is in operation. The steam generated in chamber 5 passes there from through a conduit 6 to an alternator distributing valve device indicated at 'l in Figures -1 and 2. The distributing valve device which will be more particularly described later on herein operates toalternately feed the steam to two i The opening Ill communicates with a chamber |2 which is mounted on the producer casing in such manner that a part thereof will be positioned on the interior of said casing and a part on the outer side thereof. The lower portion [3 7 of said chamber l2 extends outwardly through invention, it is believed that for completeness of the casing wall and the outer ends of the tuyeres Cand D communicate therewith so that the air passing through said chamber will be fed through said tuyeres and into the apparatus casing. The lower portion I3 of said air chamber is also provided with two openings, one of which is indicat- 5 fl'at lliinffigures land 2, and which are. positionedopposite to the outer ends of the tuyeres C and D. Theseopenings are provided with suitable closures (not shown) which may .be swung open when desired. The openings are for the purpose of starting the combustion of the 'fuelin the apparatus casing adjacent to the points where the tuyeres are positioned. This isaccomplished by inserting a suitable lighted torch through "the openings and "through the tuyeres. After the multiple fire zones or points have been established in the casing, and gas is being generated, the air which is introduced into the fire zones, and which is drawn through the openings l and into chamber l2, becomes preheateddue to the heatchamber l2- absorbs from'the said'fire zones. 1

'Thealternator distributor valve device 1 which has been referred to above, is more clearly shown in Figures 4, '5, 6 and 7. The construction consists of a casing I5, in which a valve device I6 is rotatively mounted. The casing 15, asshown in Figure 2, is supported on the exterior wall'of the producer apparatus by means of suitable brackets indicated at I1. The valve device is provided with the hollow chamber 18, and communicatin with said chamber is the steam feeding conduit 6. Leading from the hollow chamber it of the valve device, is a passageway it, which communicates with a chamber 20 formed in the lower'portion of the said valve construction. Communicating with the chamber 20 are the branch conduits 8 and 9, which extend from the valve structure to the tuyeres C and D mounted in the casing wall. Secured to the alternatordistributor device by the rods 22. 23, 24 and 25 and nuts 26, 21, 28, 29, 26", 21, 28 and 29' is an oscillating motor 30 indicated by dotted "lines in Figure 5. The shaft 3| of said motor is secured to a flanged portion 32 of the rotary valve structure I6 and the motor through its shaft 3| operates to impart an oscillatory motion to the valve structure. 'Itwill be seen from the above description of the arrangement of the apparatus that when the steam generated in chamber isfed to the alternator valve'structure through conduit 5, it will enter the hollow chamber l8 of said valve structure, and then will be fed through passageway [9 into the chamber 20. Then, as an oscillatory motion is imparted to the valve structure by the motor 30, the saldsteamwillbe alternately fed into the branch pipes! and! and. will pass through said branch pipes to the tuyeres-C and D. 4 ,The tuyeres C and D may be made of any suitable refractory material which is heat resisting, and are formed with a central opening '33 therethrough which is calibrated to thesize of the apparatus casing, and also to the size of the firezone to be established in the 'fuelbed. Each of :said tuyeres is made with a hollow outer wall which provides a chamber 34 surrounding the tuyere body. The chamber 34 has an opening therein which communicates with the central opening through the tuyere. The branch-pipes 8 and 9, which lead from the alternator-distributingfvalve device and which communicates with the hollow chambers of the tuyeres C and D, feed steam into said chambers during the operation of the apparatus.

The operation of the producer apparatus shown 'in'l igures l and 2-is as follows. The gas generating casing A is'filled with charcoal or other forms of solid combustible fuel through the openmg in the-top thereof and "the cover- B er-said ppening isgthen secured place;

to where the tuyeres C and D are positioned. This is accomplished, as above pointed out,"by inserting a flaming torch through the openings. and through said tuyeres, and by creating a suction of air through the tuyeres and through the fuel bed. The ignition of the fuel takes placealmost immediately because the air sucked through-the fuel bed functions to activate the combustionoi said fuel. When the'air is drawn through. the fuel bed bythe operation'of the internal combustion engineit is drawn therethrough atsuch a high velocity that there will be established only two small. independent and restricted .zonesicr points of comb'ustioninthefuel bed.

When the multiple fire .zoneshave ibeen-z fully established'and the quality and power of the gas generated has reached a point sufilcient tooperate the engine of the vehicle, the operation of the engine on gasoline is discontinued by a ma nipulation of the change-over valve Nyanclthe gaswhich is generated in the apparatus casing is then permitted to be fed to the engine after it has been properly mixed with air in the carbocharger M. The engine is thereafter operated'on thegenerated'gas supplied to it from the producer apparatus.

After the fuel in the multiple fire zones in the to drip from the water tank I, in a predeterminedquantity through the conduit 2, and to the'steam chamber 5, positioned on the interior of the producer casing. The water entering chamber! will then be converted into steam and said'steam is then fed to-the alternator distributor valve device 7 through conduit 6-. The distributor valve device then functions to alternately feed the steam at timed intervals through the conduits 8 and 9 to the tuyeres C and D, and said steam is thus caused to be alternately injected into first one and then the other of the fire zones established inthe casing. p

The steam which is alternately injected into the fire zones passes into the same with the air which is drawn through the tuyeres C and D and becomes'cracked into itscomponent parts of hydrogen andoxygen, which thus produce a beneficial efiect upon the gases generated iinthe producer casing. The liberated oxygenfromthe steam combines with the glowingcarbon of the fire zones to form carbon dioxide (C62) which in "turn is immediately reduced to combustible car'- bon dioxide (CO2) and the liberated combustible hydrogen from the steam is-drawn off to enrich the gas and some'of it combines with the carbon to form combustible methane (CH4) The manner in which the alternate injection of steam effects the generation of the gas in the multiple fire zonesestablished in the casing of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 is indicated in Figure 9 of the drawings. Referring-tothat figure, the letters A, B and C designatethe zones of fire producedwhen using two tuyeres such as the tuyeres C and D above referred'to. The let;- ter A designates thefire zone which'isrece'iving only air and the letter B designates the fire' 'z'one which is receiving the water or steam. The zones A and B in the area'at the points of discharge of tuyeres 8 and 9 are separate points of combustion and thus are separate and distinct fire zones in the apparatus casing which become overlapped at the area of'C due to the'singlesource-oflsuctionthroug hiD (the generatorexit); "Whenwater Thefuel. is" then ignited at points in thecasing adjacentis introduced into the zone B the depression of the fire zone is lowered in that area due to the oxygen released by the water. The depression at D being constant. the main suction is through thetuyere of the zone marked A, which at that time is receiving air only, which develops a high temperature zone. The area C. because of the position of the tuyeres and the generator exit, received more of the suction with area A maintaining itself in a higher state of combustion. The water injected into area B, after its travel through the incandescence of thatv area, then passes through the incandescent area of the zone C to the outlet D. The process is then reversed and air is admitted to the area B, which reestablishes its high incandescent condition while steam or water is being admitted to area A. Because of the overlapping area- C being maintained in a constantly incandescent condition due to the alternating of the main depression during the air blast periods to areas A and B, the gases generated are forced to pass through this area where they are more completely reduced before leavin the generator through the exit D. This sequence materially increases the'B. t. u. of the gas.

It has been found that when thissame generator apparatus utilizingtwo fire zones is used with constant injections through both tuyeres it is impossible to absorb the quantity of water which can be consumed when the injections are alternating, and the consumption of solid fuel is much greater. In tests made, one with alternate injections of water and the'other with constant injections with the same fuel being used and all other conditions being the same, the following figures showed the comparative differences and advantages of using the alternate injections.

. Alternate injections Gas B. t. u. 150.1

Solid fuel consumed lbs 51 Water consumed 1bs 25 Solid fuel per H. P. H lbs .903 Duration of test hours 2 Constant injections Gas B. t. u. 135.9 Solid fuel consumed lbs 7 1.5 Water consumed lbs 15 Solid'fuel per H. P.'-H lbs 1.365 Duration of test hours 2 As a result of these tests it was found that the gas delivered by the apparatus when alternate injections of water or steam was practiced was a more uniform quality and during the course of the test gas was obtained which was over 53.6% combustible with a B. t. u. of 173.5 per cubic foot.

In .the modified form of construction of gas producer apparatus of our invention as shown in Figure 3, the producer casing O, is made of the same light metal as in the case of the apparatus illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The casing, however, is divided into two separate fuel compartments, indicated at P and Q, separated from each other by a wall-R which extends downwardly in the casing to a point which is approximately adjacent to where the multiple fire zones are to be established in the casing in compartment P. The fuel compartments P and Q are provided with the openings S and T which have suitable closures U and V. The gas outlet W for this producer apparatus is positioned at the upper portion of compartment P. In the operation of this modified term of gas producer apparatus it is intended that the compartment P of the producer casin be filled with one type of combustible fuel and that the compartment Q be provided with a different type of fuel. The apparatus is provided with two tuyeres in the same manner as indicated for the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2, only one of said tuyeres being indicated in Figure 3 at X. Said tuyeres are mounted so that they will extend into the wall of the casing adjacent to the points where the multiple fire zones are to be established and air and steam are caused to be drawn through each of said tuyeres into the casing to activate the combustion of the fuel and to produce the combustible gas which is generated in the compartment P of the apparatus. The chamber Q in said apparatus is provided with a single tuyere Y1, which is of a smaller diameter than the tuyeres communicating with chamber P. Atmospheric air is permitted to enter said chamber Q through the tuyere X to activate the combustion of the fuel contained in said chamber.

The producer apparatus shown in Figure 3 may also be provided with a movable ash grate Z and ashpit Z2 at the lower portion thereof such as has previously been described in connection with the producer apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2. Mounted on the front of the producer casing is a water reservoir or tank 35 which is provided with a drip valve device 36. Leading from the drip valve device is a conduit 31 which communicates with an alternator distributing valve device 38 which is similar in construction and operation to the distributing valve shown in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7, and as previously described. The alternator distributing valve device 38 operates to alternately feed the water received by it througha conduit, to branch pipes, one of which is indi cated at 39 and which communicate with the tuyeres X.

In the operation of this modified form of apparatus, the gas is generated in chamber P by causing the combustion of the fuel inthe two fire zones created therein, in the same manner as described in connection withthe apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2, that is, air is drawn through the fuel mass at high velocity to activate the combustion in said fire zones and .then the water from the tank 35 is alternately fed in prev determined quantities and at timed intervals to each of the fire zones to enrich the gas produced in the casing. The gas which is generated in chamber P of the apparatus is then drawn through chamber Q in which the combustion of the particular kind of fuel contained therein is taking place, and the said gases generated in chamber P pass through the incandescentv zone established in chamber .Q where they are further reduced and cracked into more valuable and richer combustible gases. The final gas prod-.

uct produced by this method of operation of the apparatus is then caused to be drawn out of the chamber Q through the exit opening W and is fed to the engine of the automotive vehicle after passing through the series of filtering and clean.- ing devices, as previously described in connection with the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2. In the operation of this form of producer apparatus it has been found that in the compartment Q it is necessary to use a high carbon fuel rack, as a charcoal of to carbon, whereas in the main hopper P a fuel of lower carbon content-but higher volatile content may be used. The reason for this is that the volatiles contained in the fuel in the hopper P will be distilled off by the radiated heat from the main tuyeres of main air entrance and these volatiles will be drawn off by the suction created by the operation of the motor and forced to pass up through the incandescent fire zone in compartment Q. The fire zone in compartment Q is suificiently large enough to completely fill the compartment so that condensible volatiles from the main generator will have to pass through the fire and they will be reduced down or cracked to usable combustion gases.

From the above description it will be seen that the apparatus of our invention, in which the gas is generated in multiple fire zones established in the fuel bed, will operate to produce a continuous supply of producer gas of a high calorific value for use in the internal combustion engine of the automotive vehicle. The apparatus casing may also be made of a light metallic plate and without using refractory materials and without air or water circulating chambers. Also by using multiple tuyeres to feed the air and steam or water into the small multiple fire zones created in the fuel bed, the said tuyeres may be made of a smaller size than those employed when a single ,large fire zone is used to generate the gas Furthermore, because the temperature of the smaller fire zones is not so intense as in the case of a single" larger fire zone, the tuyeres can be made of less critical material.

While there has been shown and described only two fire zones established in the fuel bed of the apparatus, it is to be understood that more of said fire zones may be created in the operation of the apparatus without departing from the scope of our invention.

The apparatus of our invention though described herein in connection with its use on board. of an automotive vehicle, may also be applied to use on boats propelled by gas engines, or on railroad cars, or it may be used in any situation where a relatively light weight gas producer apparatus is desired for the production of gas to operate an internal combustion engine.

10 What is claimed is: 1. The process of generating a combustible gas for use in internal combustion engines, which comprises establishing a plurality of separate combustion zones which merge into a common zone in a fuel bed in a gas producing apparatus by continuously drawing controlled amounts of preheated air into and through said combustion zones and said common zone at a high velocity and in a horizontal path across said fuel bed at a rate sufficient to yield products of partial combustion containing appreciable amounts of carbon monoxide, directing steam at a constant rate to said apparatus and rhythmically injecting equal amounts of said steam successively into each of said combustion zones, so that during operation the products of partial combustion from all of said combustion zones and the products of the reaction of the steam with said fuel in the zone into which the steam is being introduced are continuously drawn through said common zone and withdrawn from the producer. a

2. The process of claim 1 in which the steam is injected into each of the several combustion zones at the point at which the air is drawn into said zone.

DOROTHY E. MACKENZIE. GEORGE H. WOLFE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 282,025 Zellweger July 24, 1883 2,278,798 Riccardi Apr. '7, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 16,795 Great Britain of 1889 9,818 Great Britain of 1903 

